The Radar Pitching Trainer (RPT) is a sophisticated high-tech upgrade to the old-school throwback we all had in our backyards as kids.  After all, baseball stats and other training techniques have gone scientific so why not drag the throwback into the 21st century.

The trainer calculates pitch speed, keeps track of pitch-count, strikeouts and walks, and is made for both baseball and softball pitchers.  Ball speed is calculated by the Radar Pitching Trainer’s sonic radar, while other stats are calculated by proprietary software in an “electronic umpire” – so it’s a bit like John Hirschbeck and Hal from 2001 had a baby that sits in a removable plastic box that’s attached to the back of the trainer’s steel frame.  Thankfully, there’s no creepy voice or attitude with the RPT.

John Barletta, a principle with the company developing the Radar Pitching Trainer, asked me to give the trainer a test-drive.   I pitched in college and for a time in the minors, and he John wanted to hear my ‘professional’ opinion – so I threw several simulated innings against the umpire-borg.

The trainer is great fun and I could immediately see where it would help a pitcher hone his knowledge of the strike zone. Not only could I see the difference in speed from my fastball, slider, split-finger and change, but the trainer helped me really focus location too.  Not long after I gave it some testing the Radar Pitching Trainer picked up a Best of Show award at the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Convention in San Diego.

Pitching is all about repitition, and while I played at the University of Maine Orono for coach John Winkin, he taught me several ways to focus and train my body to throw strikes but we never had anything like the Radar Pitching Trainer to throw simulated innings. It would have been a terrific addition to the college program.

The Radar Pitching Trainer’s Green Story

When John asked me to try the trainer, he knew I’d begun working with IzzitGreen.com – and he knew the green questions would be asked.  And they were!

Here’s the skinny – bringing a new consumer product to market is an inherently tough business.   Although some designers start from the ‘green’ perspective, we’re clearly living in a world where that’s not yet the norm.  Most product designers and manufacturers remain focused on simply getting an innovative, competitive, well-branded product to market.  Most don’t have the resources or knowledge to dig into the environmental impact of their nascent products or companies – both because companies need to conserve their short-term capital and because actionable ‘green’ info remains elusive in many cases.   After all, a hierarchy of needs is just that – a hierarchy.

John and the Radar Pitching Trainer crew are clearly in this latter group.  Their energies have been on the base design of the product and they’ve spent little time considering environmental impact.  However, John and company fit squarely into the category of ‘the good guys’.  The company is hard working, ethical and conscientious, and they’re focus on customers and quality aligns perfectly with a sustainability commitment.

So I did what any good friend-of-the-company should do – I helped to start them on the path to a greener version of the RPT.  We’ve identified some of their immediate opportunities – including exploring their materials options like recycled steel in the frame, non-toxic alternatives to the vinyl impregnated mesh used in the back screen and eco-alternatives for plastic parts.

The company has also identified some short-term wins in packaging, including eliminating a PVC bag used for carrying and shipping.  So they’re on their way.

It’s rare that a consumer gets a chance to really see behind the curtain on the design and manufacturing process for any company, much less a new one.  To me, the salient take-away from the Radar Pitching Trainer story is pretty simple – customer focus and commitment to sustainability are the same thing, but only if customers make their voices heard.  Great companies respond to customers – so let them know you care about the materials and impact of their products.

With that, I’m confident that the Radar Pitching Trainer is not only a cool, sophisticated and valuable product for pitchers – but also one with a bright green future.

So if you’ve got a would-be Sandy Koufax or Jenny Finch in the family, or if you coach a team at any level – grab yourself a trainer.  And while you’re mulling that over, I’m off to do what Eck would call ‘painting that trainer with cheese’.  Happy hurling.

LeRoy Decker will be contributing regularly to IzzitGreen.com.

LeRoy’s a dad, a fitness buff, a financial services and insurance executive and former pitcher of some renown – both while attending the University of Maine Orono and during a stint in the independent minor leagues way up in Canada.  Please check back regularly to see what LeRoy’s cooked-up!